Best sales lesson I ever got? A liquor store owner screaming at me to get out of his store.

I was selling payment processing door-to-door to retail businesses. Brutal market, everyone offered basically the same thing, so it was a race to the bottom on price.

I walked into this guy's store fired up. He ran a few locations around town. Real potential.

I got maybe 20 seconds into my pitch before he cut me off:

"I am not running a charity!"

Then he turned around and went back to work.

What he meant: It's a commodity. You're not the cheapest. So you've got nothing for me. Go away.

No rejection, professional or personal, has ever hit me as hard. Mostly because I knew, instantly, he was right.

The lesson I took from it: listen to your customers religiously.

So I did.

I quit that day. 😂

What's your business "coming-of-age" story? 👇